Zach Braff is tackling a role unlike anything we've seen from the Scrubs and Garden State star, with the first trailer for Clean Hands—first shared on ActioNewz.com—revealing an exciting first look at this harrowing new drama, which is based on an unbelievable true story.
Vertical just dropped the trailer and poster for the movie, which stars Braff as Sergeant Kevin Simmers, a Maryland police officer whose professional fight against the opioid crisis becomes painfully personal when his teenage daughter falls into addiction.
Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to Clean Hands, the latest feature from writer-director Jake Allyn (Ride).
Braff plays Simmers as a man caught between two worlds. As a police sergeant, he leads a task force battling drugs in Hagerstown, Maryland, a major stop along the so-called "Heroin Highway." At home, however, he's a desperate father watching his 19-year-old daughter Brooke, played by newcomer Esther McGregor, struggle with an increasingly devastating addiction.
Brooke's dependency begins with pain medication before escalating to heroin, forcing Kevin to confront a brutal contradiction: the system he has dedicated his life to defending isn't necessarily equipped to save the person he loves most.
That all adds up to make Clean Hands a noteworthy departure for Braff, who is perhaps best known for his comedic work as J.D. on Scrubs. While he's tackled more dramatic material throughout his career, the intensity shown in this trailer points to a considerably darker performance, with Braff portraying a father pushed to the edge.
Clean Hands was made in partnership with Brooke's House, a nonprofit, all-women recovery home founded by the real Kevin Simmers in Hagerstown in 2018. The organisation has since helped hundreds of women struggling with addiction.
The production also established an on-set work program allowing women in recovery to learn about various film jobs, while graduates of Brooke's House were cast to authentically portray people within the world of addiction depicted in the movie. One-third of the film's profits will also be dedicated to Brooke's House.
Alongside Braff and McGregor, Clean Hands stars Abigail Spencer, Holt McCallany, and Lucas Till. Allyn produced the film with Conor Allyn, Brian Loschiavo, James Suttles, Jason Winn, and JR Rappaport, while Braff is among the movie's executive producers.
Clean Hands will be released in Select Theaters and On Demand on October 16. You can watch the trailer and poster for the movie below.